2008 Audi R8

Some people may be tempted to dismiss Audi's R8 mid-engined supercar as a reskinned Lambor­ghini Gallardo. The format is just so similar, and Audi already makes the Gallardo's body in one of its aluminum-space-frame facilities. Besides, with a history of intelligent platform sharing under its belt, why wouldn't Audi simply indulge in a little badge engineering?

The answer is simple: Audi is a company on a mission. Remember - this carmaker revolutionized rallying with its Quattro and then later turned the 24 Hours of Le Mans into a company picnic, with five victories scored by this new car's namesake. Audi also kick-started a design renaissance with the first TT and prompted an entire industry to look at vehicle interiors in a different light. What's left to do? Well, Audi would love to steal a larger share of the luxury-sedan market, and it would certainly like to stick it to Ferrari and Porsche in the segments those companies rule.

That's a tough objective, but if the R8 is anything to go by, don't dismiss the idea as pie in the sky. For one thing, the R8's versatile nature reminds us more of Ferrari's F430 than it does the more-or-less relentlessly severe Gallardo. This is not a car that gets in your face the whole time you're in it. When equipped with the stock suspension or the optional adjustable magnetic shocks, the R8 will cruise the freeway with as little ride disruption and mechanical commotion as an A4.

Yet at speed the R8 gathers itself into a tautly controlled crouch, heading where it's pointed with remarkable precision and exhibiting none of the propensity for snap rotation that some mid-engined cars have made famous. Some of its stability is from the unequal tire sizes, and some, no doubt, is from the Quattro all-wheel-drive system that has a default rear-wheel torque bias of 90 percent. The viscous-coupling center differential will never furnish more than 35 percent of available power to the front axle when it detects slip at the rear, preserving a strong rear-drive character in almost all circumstances.

This leaves the flat-bottomed steering wheel calm and nearly free of front-drive contamination. Sure, there's enough load increase in turns to inform the driver of events at the front wheels, but the leather rim is almost devoid of vibration and kickback shock. It's so good that we'll undoubtedly hear criticism aimed at the mechanism for being isolated and uninvolved. It really is not. The steering on this car is for the finely tuned driver rather than those who require feedback at 7.6 on the Richter scale.

But don't mistake this for a luxury coupe. The mid-mounted, direct-injected V-8 is borrowed from the heavy-breathing RS 4, but with dry-sump lubrication for its new low-slung duty. Mounted so that its throttle-body intakes face rearward, meeting ducts that loop around from big intake slots ahead of the R8's signature "side blades," the V-8 is actually offset from the center line to package the all-wheel drivetrain.

The transmission mounts behind the rear axle, and a shaft runs forward through the engine's sump to power the front axle. Audi needed space for that arrangement. But Audi has camouflaged the offset effect carefully with engine-bay hardware that makes the view through the glass hatch appear symmetrical. You need to check the position of the four-ring insignia on the car's tail to confirm that the engine is shaded to the right.

No one should doubt that the direct-injection V-8 is intended to be on display to passersby, and there is even LED lighting in the engine bay to enhance the effect at night. Ferrari makes a big deal of its F430 engine, too, particularly with the Spider version. Coincidence? Not likely, given that Audi's V-8 is as much aluminum sculpture as it is machine, and it is dressed accordingly, with considerable attention paid to its dual role as window model.